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2021 Fall Semester Legal Internships

Catholic Migration Services (“CMS”) is currently accepting applications for fall semester 2021 internships in our Tenant Advocacy Program. CMS is a nonprofit provider of legal services primarily serving low-income residents of Brooklyn and Queens, and is an affiliated agency of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens.

Interns will be responsible for legal research, drafting legal memoranda and other documents, factual investigation, assisting in hearing/trial preparation, development of educational and outreach materials, client interviewing, and a host of other needs that arise in CMS litigation and advocacy efforts. Interns also may have opportunities to observe CMS attorneys in court or administrative agency proceedings. Due to COVID-19, it is likely that the internship work will be performed entirely, or almost entirely, on a remote basis.

The Tenant Advocacy Program (“TAP”) at CMS assists tenants – primarily residents of Queens – with a wide array of housing-related legal services ranging from brief advice to full representation in court proceedings. TAP assists tenants with matters such as eviction defense, obtaining needed repairs, combatting landlord harassment and rent overcharges, obtaining renewal leases, and obtaining rent increase exemptions for seniors and persons with disabilities. We typically litigate cases in Queens Housing Court and at administrative agencies, and also periodically represent clients in Queens Supreme Court and the Second Department. TAP’s legal team and TAP’s tenant organizers collaborate to lead community education events and bring group cases.

General Information
Applicants should be currently enrolled in an ABA accredited law school. The internship is unpaid, however CMS will support the applicant’s effort to obtain funding from outside sources (e.g., their law school, Equal Justice America, etc…). Interns must be able to commit to a schedule of 10-15 hours per week for at least 10 weeks.

Application Instructions
Interested applicants should email a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and three references to:

Jonathan Cohen
Managing Attorney, Tenant Advocacy Program
Email: jcohen@catholicmigration.org

Download the 2021 Fall Semester Legal Internships opportunity as a PDF.